Employer-sponsored
Subclass 186 — Employer Nomination Scheme visa
Important notice: General information only — not immigration assistance or legal advice. For advice about your circumstances, book a verified practitioner.
Compiled from official Department of Home Affairs sources — practitioner verification pending.
Permanent employer-sponsored visa. The Temporary Residence Transition stream suits 482 holders who have worked with their sponsor for the published period; the Direct Entry stream requires a skills assessment and experience. The employer nominates; you apply.
Government charge
$6,140.00
This is the government Visa Application Charge (VAC), payable directly to the Department of Home Affairs when you lodge. It is not a fee charged by this platform, and it is separate from any platform or practitioner fee. Always check the official source for the current amount.
Estimate for a family application
Total government fee (Visa Application Charge): $6,140.00
Worked out from the government's published fee list — an estimate only, not platform fees and not advice. Always check the official estimator ↗
Eligibility snapshot
In general terms, the Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) is a permanent employer-sponsored visa for skilled workers whose role has been nominated by an approved Australian employer. It is generally built around a few moving parts that must line up together: an approved employer nomination for a qualifying occupation, the applicant's skills and work experience for that occupation, and personal criteria that typically include age and English language ability, alongside the usual health and character requirements. The visa is generally available through a few streams. The Direct Entry stream is typically used by people applying from outside Australia or with limited Australian work history, and usually involves a formal skills assessment in the nominated occupation. The Temporary Residence Transition stream is generally for people already working in Australia for their sponsoring employer on an eligible temporary visa, and often relies on that period of sponsored employment rather than a separate skills assessment. A further Labour Agreement stream can apply where the sponsoring employer is covered by a labour agreement with the government. The nomination by the employer and the visa application are typically two separate steps on separate timelines. Which stream fits, which occupation qualifies, and exactly how the age, English, skills and experience thresholds apply are details that change over time and depend heavily on individual facts. Check the official Home Affairs page for current requirements, and a registered practitioner can advise on your circumstances. General information only — what YOUR application needs is a question for a registered practitioner.
Frequently asked questions
Q: What is the difference between the two streams? A: In general terms, the Direct Entry stream is typically used by people applying from outside Australia or with limited Australian work experience and usually involves a formal skills assessment, while the Temporary Residence Transition stream is generally for people already working in Australia for their sponsoring employer on an eligible temporary visa. Which one fits depends on individual circumstances — a registered practitioner can advise. Q: Does my employer have to do something separately? A: Typically, yes. The employer generally lodges a nomination for the position, and the visa application is a separate step that usually cannot be finalised until the nomination is resolved. The two run on their own timelines. Check the official page for current requirements. Q: Is this a permanent visa? A: In general terms the subclass 186 is a permanent residence visa, which is one reason its criteria are more involved than temporary work visas. The precise conditions and obligations are set out on the official Home Affairs page. Q: How do I know if my occupation and experience qualify? A: Occupation lists, skills assessment requirements, and experience and age thresholds change over time and depend on your specific facts. The official page lists current requirements, and a registered practitioner can advise on your circumstances. General information only — not immigration assistance or legal advice.
Health and character requirements
The subclass 186 visa listing states that applicants must meet the Department's health and character requirements. Most permanent visa applicants have to meet the health requirement, and family members included in an application may also need to, even if they are not moving to Australia. To meet the health requirement, a person is generally expected to be free from any disease or condition assessed as a significant healthcare and community-service cost, or as limiting other people's access to services that are in short supply. A Medical Officer of the Commonwealth reviews the results. Applicants are usually asked to complete health examinations after being given a list of the tests required and an identifier called a HAP ID. For permanent applicants these commonly include a medical examination and, depending on age, a chest x-ray, an HIV test and further tests. In Australia these are arranged through Bupa Medical Visa Services; outside Australia they are done by an approved panel physician or clinic. The My Health Declarations service can be used to obtain a HAP ID and complete examinations before lodging. The character requirement is set out under section 501 of the Migration Act 1958. Applicants are generally asked to declare all criminal conduct, including charges awaiting legal action and convictions in any country, and to answer all questions truthfully. After applying, the Department may ask for a police (penal clearance) certificate, a completed Form 80, and other documents such as military certificates or letters of good conduct. A police certificate is typically requested from each country a person aged over 17 has lived in for 12 months or more in the past 10 years, including Australia, and is generally valid for 12 months from its issue date; Australian checks are obtained through the Australian Federal Police National Police Check. This is general information only and is not immigration assistance or legal advice.
Health insurance and Medicare
The subclass 186 is a permanent visa. Access to Medicare is governed by the Health Insurance Act 1973 and is generally restricted to people permanently residing in Australia, namely Australian citizens, permanent visa holders, New Zealand citizens, and, in certain circumstances, applicants for permanent residence visas. Some Australian visas carry a condition (condition 8501) that requires the holder to maintain adequate health insurance, and some require evidence of it before a decision is made. Applicants are encouraged to check the specific requirements of the visa they are applying for. Where a person is not eligible for Medicare, the Department strongly recommends arranging private health cover, and notes that people from a country with a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement may be able to access some care under Medicare. Visa holders are financially responsible for any health-care debts they incur in Australia. As a guide to the minimum level of cover it suggests, the Department lists items such as a per-person annual benefit of not less than AUD1,000,000, together with public-hospital, pharmacy, medical-service and ambulance benefits; a higher level of cover may be more appropriate for individual needs. This is general information only and is not immigration assistance or legal advice.
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Timing and processing
The subclass 186 is a permanent visa, so a successful applicant can live and work in Australia permanently. Grants are subject to annual Migration Program planning levels; the Department states the 2025-26 program includes 44,000 places for Employer Nomination Scheme visas, counting both primary and secondary grants. Applications are prioritised under Ministerial Direction No. 105. For employer-sponsored visas the published order of priority is: positions to be carried out in a designated regional area first, then healthcare or teaching occupations, then applicants nominated by an accredited sponsor, then other permanent and provisional applications that count toward the migration program, and then all remaining applications. Because of this, the oldest-lodged applications are not necessarily decided first. The Department does not give a definitive timeframe for any individual case. It publishes a median processing time for its Skilled (Permanent) category, reported as 9 months for the month of May 2026 at the time of writing, and a live processing-times guide tool for the specific subclass. Applicants are generally encouraged to rely on the current tool rather than a fixed figure, as times change each month and are affected by whether an application is complete, whether it was lodged online or on paper, the time taken for external health, character and security checks, the complexity of the case, and the number of places available. This is general information only and is not immigration assistance or legal advice.
Visa conditions that generally attach to the subclass 186 visa
The Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) visa is a permanent visa. Because it grants permanent residence, it does not carry the ongoing limitation conditions that are common on temporary visas — for example, applicants generally do not see conditions such as 8501 (maintain adequate health insurance), 8503 (no further stay) or work and study limitation conditions attached to this permanent visa. The Department's online visa-conditions listing for the subclass 186 visa shows that the Schedule 8 condition that may be attached is 8515. In plain terms, condition 8515 means a person who was not married and not in a de facto relationship at the time the visa was decided must not marry or enter into a de facto relationship before first entering Australia on the visa. The visa also comes with a travel facility for a set period rather than an open-ended right of re-entry; this is a feature of the permanent visa rather than a Schedule 8 limitation condition. The exact conditions recorded against any individual grant are shown in the grant letter and can be checked online through VEVO. This is general information only and is not immigration assistance or legal advice.
How eligibility for the subclass 186 visa is generally assessed
The subclass 186 visa has three streams, and the stream shapes what a decision-maker looks at. The Direct Entry stream is generally for people who have not worked in Australia or only for a short time. The Temporary Residence Transition stream is generally for people already working for their sponsoring employer on a subclass 457, 482 or eligible bridging visa. The Labour Agreement stream is for people whose employer is party to a labour agreement, and the terms of that agreement govern any concessions. Across all streams, applicants are generally required to be nominated for a position by an approved Australian employer, to have the skills the role needs, and to meet the health requirement, the character requirement, and to sign the Australian values statement. For the Direct Entry stream, applicants are generally asked to be under 45 years old at the date of application (unless an exemption applies), to be nominated for an occupation on the Core Skills Occupation List, to have at least Competent English, to hold a positive skills assessment for the occupation (unless exempt), and to have at least three years of relevant work experience (unless exempt). Where a licence, registration or professional membership is mandatory in the relevant state or territory, that is also considered. For the Temporary Residence Transition stream, applicants generally need to hold an eligible temporary visa and to have worked in the nominated occupation in eligible sponsored employment, usually on a full-time basis for at least two years, before applying. These factors are applied to each applicant's own circumstances by the decision-maker and this description is general only — it is not an assessment of any particular person's eligibility. This is general information only and is not immigration assistance or legal advice.
Family members and what the visa allows after grant
Applicants can generally include family members in the application, and can add family members after applying but before a decision is made. For this visa, family members generally include the applicant's partner, a dependent child or stepchild, the partner's dependent child or stepchild, and a dependent child of any of those children. In limited situations a subclass 457 or 482 visa holder who was granted that visa as a member of the applicant's family can also be included. Family members who apply must meet the health and character requirements, and the Department may seek health or character information about family members who are not migrating. The subclass 186 visa is permanent. On grant, the holder becomes a permanent resident and can live, work and study in Australia indefinitely, and can enrol in Australia's public health scheme, Medicare. The visa carries a travel facility that generally allows travel to and from Australia for five years from the grant date. After that period, a Resident Return visa is generally needed to re-enter Australia as a permanent resident. Holders may also be able to sponsor eligible family members and, if they later meet the separate requirements, apply for Australian citizenship. Newly arrived residents may face waiting periods before they can access certain government payments and benefits. This is general information only and is not immigration assistance or legal advice.
Common refusal reasons and review at the Administrative Review Tribunal
Applications of this type are generally refused when one of the core requirements is not met. Common factual reasons include the employer nomination not being approved or having ceased, the nominated occupation not being on the relevant occupation list, a skills assessment that is not positive, insufficient relevant work experience, the applicant being over the age limit without an exemption, English below the required level, or the health or character requirements not being met. If a decision is unfavourable, merits review may be available at the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART). The ART can review a range of migration decisions, including a decision to refuse or cancel a visa and a decision to refuse a nomination. Generally a visa refusal is reviewable by the visa applicant, while a nomination refusal is generally reviewable by the sponsoring employer. Strict time limits apply. The period to lodge is stated in the decision letter and is commonly 28 days for these kinds of migration decisions, though it can differ, so the decision letter should be checked. For migration decisions made under Part 5 of the Migration Act 1958, the ART publishes a review application fee — currently AUD3,727 — and a reduction to 50 per cent of the full fee may be available in cases of financial hardship. This paragraph is factual and neutral. It is not advice and not a prediction about the outcome of any particular case. This is general information only and is not immigration assistance or legal advice.
Cost breakdown: government charges and other costs
The government Visa Application Charge (VAC) for the subclass 186 visa starts from AUD6,140.00 for the main applicant. This government charge is separate from, and additional to, any service or platform fee, and any professional fee charged if someone helps with the application. A further VAC applies for each family member who applies for the visa at the same time. This additional applicant charge is generally set at a higher rate for family members aged 18 and over and a lower rate for those under 18. Because these amounts change, the current figures should be confirmed using the Department's Visa Pricing Estimator or the current visa pricing table. A second instalment of the VAC can also apply — for example, for an applicant aged 18 or over who does not have Functional English. Because this amount changes, the current figure should be confirmed on the Department's current visa pricing table; the Department invoices any second instalment after the other requirements for the visa have been met and before the visa is granted. From 1 July 2026 a lower VAC applies to eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens who lodge a valid application. Visa application charges are generally non-refundable, including where an application is refused or withdrawn. A card payment surcharge may also apply depending on the payment method used. Applicants should generally budget for other costs that are not part of the VAC, such as health examinations, police certificates, biometrics, and, where required, a skills assessment fee charged by the assessing authority. The employer separately bears the costs of lodging the nomination, including the Skilling Australians Fund levy. This is general information only and is not immigration assistance or legal advice.
Official forms associated with this visa
Departmental forms that commonly come up for subclass 186, linked to the department’s own files. Whether a form applies to you depends on your circumstances — the note beside each is general only.
- 80.PDF — Form 80 - Personal particulars for assessment including character assessment ↗Personal particulars and character — routinely requested for permanent employer-sponsored applicants.
- 1221.PDF — Form 1221 - Additional personal particulars information ↗Additional personal particulars, if requested.
- 956.PDF — Form 956 - Appointment of a registered migration agent, legal practitioner or exempt person ↗If a migration agent or legal practitioner acts for you or the nominating employer.
- 956A.PDF — Form 956a - Appointment or withdrawal of an authorised recipient ↗To appoint an authorised recipient for correspondence.
- 1022.PDF — Form 1022 - Notification of changes in circumstances ↗To notify a change in circumstances after lodgement.
- 1023.PDF — Form 1023 - Notification of incorrect answer(s) ↗To correct an incorrect answer after lodgement.
Official information and lodgement
Applications are lodged through your own ImmiAccount on the Department of Home Affairs website — never through this platform.
Visit the official Home Affairs page ↗Important notice: General information only — not immigration assistance or legal advice. For advice about your circumstances, book a verified practitioner.
Compiled from official Department of Home Affairs sources — practitioner verification pending.